My Intoxicating Rhapsody With Taoism
A Blue Sacred Encounter with George Gershwin
On a still night, the kind that pulls you into itself with a magnetic whisper, I found myself absorbed in the symphonic embrace of “Rhapsody in Blue,” played with haunting clarity by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Each note unfurled with the elegance of a river’s flow, each rise and fall like the Tao’s silent breath—unseen, yet undeniably felt. I sat at my desk, rapt, as the music undulated through my headphones, carrying me to a place beyond the tangible, a liminal space where sound becomes the pure language of the soul.
Gershwin’s masterpiece, a fusion of classical precision and jazz’s liberated improvisation, felt like the perfect expression of Wu Wei—the Taoist concept of effortless action, where doing becomes an act of non-doing, and life’s melody finds its most authentic rhythm.
Listening to "Rhapsody in Blue" is like embarking on an inner journey, a musical meditation that transcends the boundaries of time and space. As the first clarinet glissando wove its serpentine way into the night, I was swept into an ocean of sound, as if the very air around me had transformed into a shimmering fabric of notes.
This glissando, conceived in the spontaneity of rehearsal and made immortal by the delighted insistence of Gershwin, mirrors the essence of the Tao: an unexpected turn, a graceful yielding, a surrender to the flow that creates something greater than the sum of its parts. It is an invitation to let go, to be carried, to exist in the delicate balance between intention and release.
As I listened, I felt myself dissolving into the music, becoming not just a listener but a part of the composition itself—a single breath in the vast symphony of existence. This experience echoes the words of Zhuangzi: “To forget the self is to be at one with the Tao; to be at one with the Tao is to be at one with all beings.”
In the swell of Gershwin’s chords, I forgot my separateness, my small concerns, and found myself instead in a state of harmonious resonance with the universe. This is the sacred power of music: it lifts the veils between worlds, offering glimpses of that ineffable realm where sound becomes spirit, and spirit, sound.
Music, in its highest form, is a bridge to higher states of consciousness. It has the power to realign us, to recalibrate the frequencies of our mental, emotional, and spiritual selves. “Rhapsody in Blue” does more than entertain; it elevates, transforming a simple moment of listening into a sacred act.
As the orchestra played, I could feel the subtle shifts within me—a quieting of the mind’s chatter, a softening of the heart’s edges, an expansion of the spirit beyond the confines of the ordinary. The music’s blend of syncopated rhythms and lush, sweeping melodies spoke to a deeper truth: that life itself is a rhapsody, a constantly evolving interplay of order and improvisation.
In Taoism, there is a saying: “The sage seeks to be empty, not full; simple, not complex.” There is a profound simplicity in the complex layering of Gershwin’s score—a simplicity that speaks directly to the soul’s longing for unity and release.
The clarinet’s glissando, bending notes like bamboo swaying in the wind, reminds us that the beauty of life often lies in the unplanned, the spontaneous, the places where structure gives way to flow. It is this embrace of the unexpected, the willingness to dance with the unknown, that allows us to touch the sacred.
As the final notes of “Rhapsody in Blue” faded into the night, I sat in silence, feeling the lingering vibration of the music within me. It was as though the Tao itself had passed through the room, leaving behind the faintest trace of its boundless, ineffable presence.
At that moment, I understood that music, like the Tao, is not something to be grasped or owned but experienced—a fleeting glimpse of the infinite, a reminder that beneath the surface of our everyday lives, a deeper melody is always playing.
If this publication has been a source of wisdom for you then please consider helping me sustain it by becoming a monthly or annual contributor.
For just $6.00/month or $60.00/year, you’ll have the opportunity to share your lived experiences with fellow nomads, fueling fiery discussions that provoke, inspire, and challenge you to think differently.
So I hope you will take the plunge today and contribute to my mission of helping human travelers on this life journey.
Onward and Forward
Diamond Michael Scott aka The Chocolate Taoist
